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Get Out
Get Out is a 2017 American horror film written and directed by Jordan Peele in his directorial debut. It stars Daniel Kaluuya as Chris, a black man who uncovers a disturbing secret when he meets the family of his white girlfriend (Allison Williams). Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Stephen Root, Lakeith Stanfield, and Catherine Keener co-star. Get Out premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2017, and was theatrically released in the United States on February 24, 2017, by Universal Pictures. The film grossed $255 million worldwide on a $4.5 million budget, making a net profit of $124 million and becoming the tenth most profitable film of 2017 and one of the most profitable horror films in recent years. Critics praised its screenplay, direction, performances, and satirical themes. It was chosen by the National Board of Review, the American Film Institute and Time as one of the top 10 films of the year. At the 90th Academy Awards, it was nominated for four awards, winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. It also earned five nominations at the 23rd Critics' Choice Awards, two at the 75th Golden Globe Awards, and two at the 71st British Academy Film Awards. Plot Black photographer Chris Washington reluctantly agrees to meet the family of his white girlfriend, Rose Armitage. During their drive to the family's countryside estate, they hit a deer and report the incident. The white policeman asks for Chris' identification even though he was not driving, but Rose intervenes and the incident goes unrecorded. At the house, Rose's parents, neurosurgeon Dean and hypnotherapist Missy, and her brother Jeremy make discomfiting comments about black people. Chris witnesses strange behavior from the estate's black workers, housekeeper Georgina and groundskeeper Walter. Unable to sleep, Chris goes outside to smoke and sees Walter sprinting through the grounds while Georgina prowls the house. Missy talks Chris into a hypnotherapy session, ostensibly to cure his smoking addiction. In a trance, he recounts the death of his mother in a hit-and-run when he was a child, about which he feels guilty, and sinks into a void Missy calls the "sunken place". He awakens believing he had a nightmare but realizes cigarettes now revolt him. Walter confirms that Chris was in Missy's office. Georgina unplugs his phone, draining his battery, though she claims it was an accident. Dozens of wealthy white people arrive for the Armitages' annual get-together. They take an interest in Chris, admiring his physique or expressing admiration for black figures such as Tiger Woods. Jim Hudson, a blind art dealer, takes particular interest in Chris's photography skills. Chris meets another black man, Logan King, who acts strangely and is married to a much older white woman. Chris calls his friend, a black TSA agent named Rod Williams, about the hypnosis and the strange behavior at the house. Chris tries to inconspicuously photograph Logan with his phone to send to Rod, but his flash goes off; Logan becomes hysterical, yelling at Chris to "get out". The others restrain him and Dean claims Logan had an epileptic seizure. Away from the house, Chris persuades Rose that they should leave, while Dean holds an auction with a photo of Chris, which Jim Hudson wins. Chris sends the photo of Logan to Rod; Rod recognizes Logan as Andre Hayworth, who has been missing for months. Suspecting a conspiracy, Rod goes to the police, but they deride him. While he packs to leave, Chris finds photos of Rose in prior relationships with black men, contradicting her claim that Chris is her first black boyfriend; the collection also includes pictures of Rose with Walter and Georgina. Chris is blocked from leaving the estate by the Armitage family, including Rose. He tries to attack Jeremy, but Missy hypnotizes him into unconsciousness. He awakens strapped to a chair in the basement. A video presentation featuring Rose's grandfather Roman explains that the family transplants the brains of white people into black bodies; the consciousness of the host remains in the "sunken place", watching what is happening but powerless to change anything. Hudson tells Chris he wants his body so he can gain Chris's sight and artistic talents. Chris plugs his ears with cotton stuffing pulled from the chair, blocking the hypnosis. When Jeremy comes to collect him for the surgery, Chris bludgeons him with a croquet ball and impales Dean on the antlers of a deer mount. After fatally stabbing Missy and beating Jeremy to death, he drives away in Jeremy's car, but hits Georgina. Remembering his own mother's death, he carries Georgina into the car, but she is possessed by Rose's grandmother Marianne; she attacks him and he crashes, killing her. An armed Rose apprehends him with Walter, who is possessed by Roman. Chris awakens Walter with his phone flash. Walter takes Rose's rifle and shoots her and then himself. Wounded, Rose attempts to shoot Chris; Chris begins to strangle her but stops. Rod arrives in a TSA car and rescues Chris, leaving Rose to bleed to death in the road as Chris and Rod leave. Cast *Daniel Kaluuya as Chris Washington **Zailand Adams as 11-year-old Chris *Allison Williams as Rose Armitage *Catherine Keener as Missy Armitage *Bradley Whitford as Dean Armitage *Caleb Landry Jones as Jeremy Armitage *Stephen Root as Jim Hudson *Lakeith Stanfield as Andre Hayworth / Logan King *Lil Rel Howery as Rod Williams *Erika Alexander as Detective Latoya *Marcus Henderson as Walter / Roman Armitage *Betty Gabriel as Georgina / Marianne Armitage *Richard Herd as Roman Armitage Writer-director Jordan Peele voices the sounds made by the wounded deer, and narrates a UNCF commercial. Production Get Out is the directorial debut of Jordan Peele, who had previously worked in comedy, including the sketch show Key & Peele.[5] He felt the horror and comedy genres are similar in that "so much of it is pacing, so much of it on reveals", and that comedy gave him "something of a training" for the film. The Stepford Wives (1975) provided inspiration, about which Peele said, "it's a horror movie but has a satirical premise." As the film deals with racism, Peele has stated that the story is "very personal", although he noted that "it quickly veers off from anything autobiographical." Peele was introduced to producer Sean McKittrick by comedy partner Keegan-Michael Key in 2013. "I was shooting a movie with Keegan-Michael Key. He said, 'You gotta meet Jordan, he's a horror fanatic and he has all these ideas.' Jordan and I met for coffee in New Orleans. He said, 'Here’s one you’ll never want to make,' and he pitched me the whole story. I'd never seen that movie before. It fascinated me. So I said right at the table, 'Okay, I’m going to buy this pitch and pay you to write it.' I think he was a little shocked." Peele wrote the first draft of the script in two months. The lead actors, Daniel Kaluuya and Allison Williams, were cast in November 2015, with other roles cast between December 2015 and February 2016. "That party sequence is why I really wanted to do this film, because I've been to that party," Kaluuya told The Los Angeles Times. "Jordan told me that he had always pictured me as Rose because Peter Pan or Marnie would make it easier for people to trust me," Williams noted. "I was looking for a role that would weaponize everything that people take for granted about me. So I instantly signed on to it." Principal photography began on February 16, 2016. Shooting took place in Fairhope, Alabama, for three weeks, followed by Barton Academy and in the Ashland Place Historic District in midtown Mobile, Alabama. Principal photography ended in 23 days. The scene where Rose drinks milk while looking at potential future victims was conceived shortly before shooting. The music used in the scene, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life," was intended to reflect Rose's childishness. Peele was worried about the film's chances of success, telling the Los Angeles Times, "What if white people don't want to come see the movie because they're afraid of being villainized with black people in the crowd? What if black people don't want to see the movie because they don't want to sit next to a white person while a black person is being victimized on-screen?” 'Alternative endings' In the original ending, Chris is arrested by the police while trying to strangle Rose. Instead of rescuing Chris, Rod meets him in jail and asks him for information about the Armitage family to investigate, but Chris insists that he stopped them and everything is fine. Peele intended this ending to reflect the realities of racism. By the time production had begun, however, several high-profile police shootings of black people had made discussion, in Peele's words, "more woke". After gauging reception at test screenings, he decided the film needed a happy ending, and that having a moment where the audience believes Chris is about to be arrested would preserve the intended reaction. Peele considered several other endings, some of which are included on the DVD and Blu-ray release. In one ending, Rod breaks into the estate, finds Chris, and calls his name, but Chris responds, "I assure you, I don't know who you're talking about." 'Soundtrack' Michael Abels composed the film's score, which Peele wanted to have "distinctly black voices and black musical references." This proved to be a challenge, as Peele found that African-American music typically has what he termed "at the very least, a glimmer of hope to it." At the same time, Peele also wanted to avoid having a voodoo motif. The final score features Swahili voices as well as a Blues influence. "Sikiliza Kwa Wahenga" is a Swahili phrase that translates to "listen to (your) ancestors," which indicates to the listener, "something bad is coming. Run." "The words are issuing a warning to Chris," Peele said. "The whole idea of the movie is 'Get out!' — it's what we're screaming at the character on-screen." The song "Redbone" by Childish Gambino appears at the movie's beginning. Other songs in the film include "Run Rabbit Run" by Flanagan and Allen and "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes. Themes The Guardian wrote, The thing Get Out does so well – and the thing that will rankle with some viewers – is to show how, however unintentionally, these same people can make life so hard and uncomfortable for black people. It exposes a liberal ignorance and hubris that has been allowed to fester. It's an attitude, an arrogance which in the film leads to a horrific final solution, but in reality, leads to a complacency that is just as dangerous." Peele said about the film, "The real thing at hand here is slavery ... It's some dark shit. The film also depicts the lack of attention on missing black Americans compared tomissing white females. Slate's Damon Young stated the film's premise was "depressingly plausible ... Although black people only comprise 13 percent of America's population, they are 34 percent of America's missing, a reality that exists as the result of many racial and socioeconomic factors rendering black lives demonstratively less valuable than the lives of our white counterparts." Peele wrote Rose as a subversion of the white savior trope, and in particular films where most white characters are evil but one is good. Peele and Williams stated that Rose behaved like a teenager as her emotional development was delayed. Williams believed that Rose was not a victim of indoctrination, hypnotism or Stockholm syndrome , but simply evil. After Rose's intentions are revealed, her previous "soft and welcoming" appearance becomes a "vision of cold, meticulous elitism", with hunting jodhpurs, a white dress shirt, and a "sleek ponytail"; she hangs photographs of her ex-partners on her wall like hunting trophies. Reception 'Box office' Get Out grossed $176 million in the United States and Canada and $79 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $255 million, against a production budget of $4.5 million. Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $124.8 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues, making it the 10th most profitable release of 2017. In North America, Get Out was released on February 24, 2017, alongside Collide and Rock Dog, and was expected to gross $20–25 million from 2,773 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $1.8 million from Thursday night previews and $10.8 million on its first day. It went on to open for $33.4 million, finishing first at the box office. Thirty-eight percent of the film's opening-weekend audience was African American, while 35% was white, with Georgia being its most profitable market. In its second weekend, the film finished in second at the box office behind new release Logan ($88.4 million), grossing $28.3 million, for a drop of 15.4%. Horror films tend to drop at least 60% in their second weekend, so this was above average.[33] In its third weekend, the film grossed $21.1 million, dropping just 25% from its previous week, and finished third at the box office behind newcomer Kong: Skull Island and Logan. In March 2017, three weeks after its release, Get Out crossed the $100 million mark domestically, making Peele the first black writer-director to do so with his debut movie. On April 8, 2017, the film became the highest-grossing film domestically directed by a black filmmaker, beating out F. Gary Gray's Straight Outta Compton, which grossed $162.8 million domestically in 2015. Gray reclaimed the record two weeks later when The Fate of the Furious grossed $173.3 million on its fourteenth day of release on April 27. Domestically, Get Out is also the highest-grossing debut film based on an original screenplay in Hollywood history, beating the two-decade-long record of 1999's The Blair Witch Project ($140.5 million). By the end of March, Los Angeles Times had declared the film's success a "cultural phenomenon" noting that in addition to its box office success, "moviegoers have shared countless 'sunken place' Internet memes and other Get Out-inspired fan-art across social media." Josh Rottenberg, the editor of the piece, attributed the film's success to the fact that it was released "at one of the most politically charged moments in memory." 'Critical response' On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , the film has an approval rating of 99% based on 306 reviews, and an average rating of 8.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Funny, scary, and thought-provoking, Get Out seamlessly weaves its trenchant social critiques into a brilliantly effective and entertaining horror/comedy thrill ride." It is one of ten films to earn a 99% (six other films) or 100% (three films) rating with 100 or more reviews (it held a 100% approval rating after the first 139 reviews on the site were registered). It was also the highest rated wide release of 2017 on the site. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has an average weighted score of 84 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave an 84% overall positive score and a 66% "definite recommend". Richard Roeper gave the film 3½ stars, saying: "the real star of the film is writer-director Jordan Peele, who has created a work that addresses the myriad levels of racism, pays homage to some great horror films, carves out its own creative path, has a distinctive visual style—and is flat-out funny as well." Keith Phipps of Uproxx praised the cast and Peele's direction, saying, "That he brings the technical skill of a practiced horror master is more of a surprise. The final thrill of Get Out—beyond the slow-building sense of danger, the unsettling atmosphere, and the twisty revelation of what's really going on—is that Peele's just getting started." Mike Rougeau of IGN gave the film 9/10, and wrote, "Get Out's whole journey, through every tense conversation, A-plus punchline and shocking act of violence, feels totally earned. And the conclusion is worth each uncomfortable chuckle and moment of doubt." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave Get Out 3.5/4, and called it a "jolt-a-minute horrorshow laced with racial tension and stinging satirical wit." Scott Mendelson of Forbes said the film captured the zeitgeist and called it a "modern American horror classic." Conversely, film critic Armond White of the National Review gave a negative review, referring to the film as a "Get-Whitey movie" and stating that it "reduces racial politics to trite horror-comedy ... it's an Obama movie for Tarantino fans." New York Observer critic Rex Reed included the film on his list of 10 Worst Films of 2017, and later stated in a CBS Sunday Morning interview, "I didn't care if all the black men are turned into robots." A writer on Sunday Morning's website noted that Reed appeared mistaken on what the film was about, something that Reed has also been accused of over other films. 'Accolades' At the 90th Academy Awards, the film earned four nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actor for Daniel Kaluuya. Peele became the third person (after Warren Beatty and James L. Brooks) to earn Best Picture, Director and Screenplay nominations for a debut film, and the first black winner for Best Original Screenplay (and fourth overall nominated, after John Singleton, Spike Lee, and Suzanne de Passe). At the 75th Golden Globe Awards, Get Out received two nominations: Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actor – Comedy or Musical for Daniel Kaluuya. The film also received nominations at the 24th Screen Actors Guild Awards, 49th NAACP Image Awards, and 23rd Critics' Choice Awards, among others. It won Best Foreign International Film at the Best Foreign International Film. At the 33rd Independent Spirit Awards on Mar. 3, 2018, Jordan Peele won the Best Director Award and the film won Best Picture. Only films with total budgets less than $20 million are eligible for the awards. Possible sequel In an interview with website The Playlist, Peele stated that he has ideas for a sequel and was open to making one. See also *''Short Night of Glass Dolls'' (1971) *''The Stepford Wives'' (1975) *''Society'' *''Rosemary's Baby'' *''Guess Who's Coming to Dinner'' *''The Skeleton Key'' *''Being John Malkovich'' *List of black films of the 2010s Category:2017 films Category:American films Category:English-language films Category:Directorial debut films Category:American horror films Category:2010s films Category:2010s horror films Category:2010s horror thriller films Category:2010s psychological horror films Category:2010s satirical films Category:African-American films Category:American comedy horror films Category:American horror thriller films Category:American psychological horror films Category:American satirical films Category:Blumhouse Productions films Category:Body swapping in films Category:Films about couples Category:Films about interracial romance Category:Films about racism Category:Films about suburbia Category:Films produced by Jason Blum Category:Films shot in Alabama Category:Universal Pictures films Category:Best Horror Empire Award winners Category:Independent Spirit Award for Best Film winners Category:Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award